This Friday and Saturday in New Haven, fellow Postman John DaSilva and I will take on 338 other contestants in the Sports Haven handicapping contest, hosted by Autotote/Connecticut OTB. On the line: $100,000 in prize money, paid down to the top 25 finishers, with 40G going to the top dog.

You have to make 10 plays a day for a mythical $200 each (win, place and/or show) on races from Aqueduct, Gulfstream and Santa Anita. The highest combined mutuel payoffs win.

Four years ago, I won the Conn. OTB contest in Hartford, and finished ninth in the same bout last summer. Both times, certain strategies worked well for me. Here are some of them:

CAN YOU BEAT THE FAVORITE? Is that even-money shot vulnerable? If so, that creates overlays through the rest of the field. If not, skip the race.

SHOP FOR A PRICE. Try to keep your plays in the 5-1 to 12-1 range. Anything lower isn’t worth the risk, unless you’re trying to protect your lead or assure an in-the-money finish. Anything higher and your chances of winning decrease dramatically, unless it’s a light-the-tote longshot you really love.

GO DEEP EARLY. If you can build a quick lead with a couple of $20 payoffs, a lot of the other players panic and start chasing horses who have little chance of winning. So throw downfield once or twice in your first several plays.

STAY CLOSE IN THE FIRST HALF. If you don’t connect on those early long bombs, get conservative for a while. This is when it’s OK to play a solid contender in the 5-2 to 4-1 range, even dividing your bet between win and place, just to get on the board. Psychologically, it gives you a lift if you’re within range of the leaders after day 1, because it’s almost impossible to make up too much ground on day 2.

SAVE YOUR BULLETS. Do this by being selective in the races you play. Look for a race where 1) you can beat the favorite; and 2) there are only three or four other logical contenders. Avoid races with short fields, and also races with large fields where anyone can win. Avoid cheap claiming races and, usually, maiden claimers.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO PULL THE TRIGGER. Some players are so scared to bet on a loser, they have six plays left to make at the end of the day, and only six races left to play. This severely limits your options. Take the shot.

STUDY THE TOTE, AND WAIT. The key to winning is finding live overlays. Don’t play a race until a few minutes left to post, after you’ve seen which horses are going off at a price and deciding if one of them has a good chance.